SHOCKING photos of Princess Diana's final resting place reveals vegetation growing over a memorial and moss covering a monument dedicated to her.

Little has been done to address concerns raised a year ago over Diana's resting place at Althorp

A year after Diana's former chef spoke of his disgust at the "overgrown mess" of the late Princess of Wales's grave site within the Althorp estate in Northamptonshire, little appears to have been done to repair the situation - and much of it has even got worse.

With tomorrow marking the 18th anniversary of her tragic death in a Paris car crash, Express.co.uk can reveal a monument on the island, the location on which Diana was laid to rest, is being encroached by trees and bushes.

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There is also another monument commemorating the mother of Prince William and Harry, which is covered in moss.

It sits by the entrance to the 13,000-acre Althorp estate.

The images are likely to sadden many who knew Diana, including Darren McGrady - who was personal chef to the princess and her sons for a four-year spell at Kensington Palace before her death on 31 August 1997, at the age of 36.

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More vegetation covers the statue in last week's photo, right, compared to the 2014 image, left

Last August, Mr McGrady shared his disgust on Twitter after visiting the Althorp site, publishing a photo of the island and writing 'Sad to see Earl Spencer @AlthorpEstate has neglected Princess Dianas resting place #ProveYouDidntWantHerForTheMoney'.

He followed this up the next day by adding on the social network: 'PLEASE tidy up the vegetation on the island @AlthorpEstate Prove you wanted #PrincessDiana there through love and not just to make money.'

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While the algae has gone since Mr McGrady's photo, left, the vegetation has increased this year

Tens of thousands of annual visitors to Althorp pay up to £18.50 to pay their respects to the princess and visit the rest of the estate, which has been held by the Spencer family for 500 years.

It is currently owned by Diana's brother Charles, 9th Earl Spencer, who delivered the eulogy at the princess's funeral service at Westminster Abbey six days after she died.

He then oversaw a private burial service at Althorp later the same day.

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Moss has gathered on a memorial stone for Diana but Althorp has defended this in a statement

Express.co.uk broke the story of Mr McGrady's upset last year and the news soon went global.

Mr McGrady, who now lives in Texas, US, wrote in a blog post on his personal website following the coverage: "It was a mess and in my opinion no place for a Princess.

"The lake was full of algae and the trees and bushes on the island were an overgrown mess looking like they had never been trimmed since the day she was buried on the island.

"Even the memorial with blistered paint looked more like a ‘tatty old garden shed at the bottom of the garden’ than a shrine to the most photographed woman in the world."

Express.co.uk can exclusively reveal in photos taken this week that vegetation now covers the bottom of the monument on the island where Diana was buried within the grounds of the Althorp.

The Diana temple at the back of the lake where many leave flowers for the princess

In images that would upset those touched by Diana's life, the temple described as 'tatty' by Mr McGrady is in a similar state, with paint peeling off of it.

But perhaps worst of all is the monument just yards from the entrance to the Althorp site, which marks an avenue of trees planted by her brother Earl Spencer, four months after her death.

Sadly, it is now covered in moss.

The aristocratic estate was the home of Diana before she married Prince Charles at the age of 21 in 1981.

In response to the photographs, a spokesman for Althorp Estate said: "We have 14 'Planting Stones' in the Park, and they all become parts of the ancient landscape over time, rather than being scrubbed clean.

"The algae was present last year because of that summer's exceptional heat – something that has not recurred this year.

"The island where the late Princess is buried has always had a full growth of mature trees, which give a rich panoply of foliage in the summer, which intentionally lends privacy to the Princess's final resting place.